Koln v Arsenal: Entertaining Europa League clash in Germany

Having contested an entertaining reverse fixture in London, Al Hain-Cole expects the goals to flow once more when the Billy Goats face Wenger's men

Arsenal will be aiming to secure first place in Group H when they travel to the RheinEnergieStadion to take on Koln in Thursday's Europa League clash.

Already through to the knockout stages after claiming 10 points from the first available 12, the Gunners are available at 17/10 (2.70) with Betfair Sportsbook to progress as group winners with a victory in this one.

A draw would also be enough for them to claim top spot, and you can get odds of 5/2 (3.50) on them settling for a stalemate for the second match in a row in this competition.

Meanwhile, Peter Stoger's men need to take maximum points in order to definitely keep their own qualification chances alive, and they are on offer at 8/5 (2.60) to pull off a vital win here.

The arrival of around 20,000 travelling fans at the Emirates Stadium caused kick-off to be delayed by an hour in September's reverse encounter - the Germans' first European tie in a quarter of a century.

Although their team eventually lost 3-1, those supporters that did make their way into the stadium were treated to an entertaining 90 minutes that produced some memorable goals among the four that went in.

Having seen their Europa League campaign rather fizzle out after consecutive 1-0 defeats in the subsequent two matches, the Billy Goats jolted back to life with a hefty 5-2 thrashing of BATE last time out.

With their fate still in their own hands, the hosts are bound to put in another energetic performance in a must-win clash in front of a packed crowd on Thursday.

In contrast, Arsene Wenger is likely to use the fixture as an opportunity to offer a runout to a number of the club's talented younger players, with this side all but assured of their own place in the next round.

All in all, odds of 5/6 (1.83) seem like solid value on another open clash providing over 2.5 goals, with at least three having been scored in four of Koln's last five fixtures and four of Arsenal's previous five on the road.